End 'O August & Beer Ingredients

Here we are at the end of August and some cooler temps here in the PAC NW along with some rain this past month! I actually got caught (while cycling) between two sets of showers moving over the Eola Hills on my way back home as I was skirting the county roads in Polk County. Was good to get quite wet on the bike and keep it up right and now am letting the shoes doing some drying.

Well, speaking of the topic "beer ingredients" I was out for a ride a few Sunday's ago and rode by some "Hops" fields over the river on the Marion County side of things. They are coming in quite nicely and should be harvested soon and sold to multiple brewers and others who might use this crop. I am a fan of the IPA's and they are usually a little hoppier then the average beer. Anyway after riding by them in the AM, I went back out in the mid-evening and got a few shots. I have only unloaded the shots from one camera and not the other yet so I have included a few of what I have. Five years ago while riding with others I had to ask what these were and they told me as I had no idea they grew on a vine. It is amazing when you see these huge fields of Hops while going along the road, and with a little moisture in the air they can have a very wonderful aroma! Makes me kind of thirsty!

Other items; I Had been doing about 10 photos per week to Smugmug for almost four weeks when last week I kind of got out the process with some Physical Therapy, another little leg injury and two days of vacation from work I just lost track of time and effort. Will get back in the swing again on that as this week progresses, and might have some more time in the evening now that school will be starting and that should take up some energy from the daughter.

Well, that is it for now. Not much in the way of enlightenment I don't think. Hope it has been a super Labor Day Weekend and now on to the fall Season!

Tim -

August - Dog Days

Here we are heading towards Mid-August and the 'Dog Days' of summer! Where I grew up in Nebraska this became the hottest time of year with humidity equalling the air temperature. I would sweat in the shade in the middle of the night it was so hot at times.

Well, now here we are in Salem, Oregon and yes we do get some temps in the 90's but overall we only get 2-3 days of this in a row and then it is back into the low and mid 80's. We actually just had a few days here in August with the highs in the low 70's with night time temps in the 50's and 60's. If you have never been here in the Pacific NW, don't believe the rain stories....we seriously get very little rain June - September and even in our town the annual average is only 42 inches of precipitation per year. Keep moving and the moss will not grow on you much!

Anyway, I was going through some older photos and came across this one in a set of shots from July of 2007. This is a view looking [N/NE] from our deck over the roof tops and you can kind of make out Mt. St. Helen's in the background in the middle right. When we do have these evenings it is good to sit out on the deck, enjoy a beer and watch the view!

Wherever you are I hope that you enjoy your sunsets and sunrises and everything around you. Enjoy every moment and never take to much for granted!

Tim -

Wyoming - Jellystone and Night Rodeos

Howdy!

Have been back about a week now from a visit to Wyoming. Cody in particular as that is where my folks live so it was time to have a short (4+ day) vacation to take my daughter to see grandma/grandpa. Thankfully got some reasonable tickets and flew from Salem, OR with a stop in Salt Lake then on to Cody. That saved us at least 4 hours of driving each day to catch or go home from airports.

While there is a bunch of things to do in that part of Wyoming, Cody itself has some interesting things going on. The gateway on the East side, Cody is about 50 miles from the East-Gate to Yellowstone. In Cody they have a Night Rodeo and from my folks house you can watch it (with binoculars) and you can hear it! We did not make it this time to the rodeo but will when we venture out again next year.

Grandma, daughter and I all went to Yellowstone to see 'Old Faithful' and take a drive through part of the park. On the way we able to start a "Bear Jam" and I was lucky enough to get some shots of a Grizzly from my point on the road. The bear was about 150 plus yards away and I only had a 200mm lens so I could not get a super shot. Of course I didn't want to ask the beast if it would pose so never got a clear face shot. I included about the best shot I have and have cropped it in from the original.

Anyway, if you are out there in Wyoming land head to Cody and take in some Rodeo, do some rafting, go to Yellowstone and just relax. Things move pretty slow around there so you don't need to be in a hurry.

until next time.

Tim

Just Hawking Around

So back in June on the 16th I am coming home on my bicycle from work and a hawk flies overhead and perches on my neighbors roof. I figured it would fly away by the time I got into my house grabbed a camera and headed out, but no it had not. It actually flew across the street to a fence to watch the hood.

So I started moving slowly and went across the street and got a shot before it flew to another tree, which my curiosity made me get close to and by doing that it flew out to a bush. Now I was shooting towards the sun around 6 PM but didn't want to move anymore. Really didn't want to stress the hawk and you have to take what you are given. The hawk rested on the ground, then the bush and it was only about 25 feet away so luckily I had been shooting with a big old 70-200/f2.8 so I could get some reach.

What I did not know was the hawk was looking for dinner! It made a small little jump towards the ground then just rammed into the bush that you see it sitting on. BOOM! about a dozen sparrows go flying out of the bush (they had been absolutely silent) and then the hawk came out with one in its clutches. Of course I had been so in tune with what it was doing I had quit shooting and was just watching......Dinner was served!

Enjoy the shots - I believe this is a 'Cooper's Hawk' based on the ambush method of attack! Plus the size, tail feathers and Head based on most of my research I am sticking with the Cooper's Hawk.

Thanks for reading!

Tim-

Opal Creek - Oregon Cascades

A Sunday or so ago my wife, daughter, myself along with our dog went up to the Opal Creek area for a day hike. We ended up doing a seven mile loop which was a little more than we should have for the seven year old and our dog who was dragging too by the time we got back to the car. This area is a little over an hour of travel time East of Salem, and is kind of busy on the weekends, as it is rather an easy hike overall. Still a very wonderful area and to remain intact for years to come.

Anyway, this is a protected "Old Growth" area which used to have a little mining village so along the road/path you see some of the old mining equipment that was used and left behind. Further up the road is the community area of 'Jawbone Flats' which is where there are cabins that can be rented and they do learning camps for the area teaching of the ecosystem and what the old trees still do and the value to the system.

Of course there was the Little North Santiam River, which was flowing rather well from a tremendous snow pack and the spring melting. So the roar of the river stays with you as you pretty much hike/walk along this old road cut.

One of the little critters that can be found there is the 'Western Red-Backed Salamander'. The one I shot here happened to be working its way across the parking area so hopefully it did not get squished from a car later on.

Thanks for reading!

Tim